SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- After beating No. 1 St. Edward, 53-50, on Tuesday, No. 2 Shaker Heights boys basketball coach Danny Young has a message for the rest of Ohio.

"I've been reading on Twitter and some media guys saying that St. Edward is 25 points better than everyone," Young said. "They're great players, but I think Shaker Heights has some great players too."

Shaker Heights (16-4) became the first team all season from Ohio to beat St. Edward (16-2). The only other loss for the Eagles came at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in California.

Young went to scout St. Edward this past Saturday against St. Ignatius, and after watching the Wildcats take the Eagles to overtime, he knew his team could win on Tuesday.

"When I talked to them in practice I told them I fully expect to win the basketball game," Young said. "Yes, they're No. 1 in the area. Yes, they're No. 1 in the state. We can do this."

In the middle of it all was junior forward Esa Ahmad, who had a team-high 14 points despite missing half of the second quarter after an elbow opened a gash above his left eye.

Even after the game with a bandage around his head and blood above his eye, the win numbed the pain.

"I'm feeling on top of the world," Ahmad said. "We believe that we are also one of the best teams in the country."

Ahmad made the biggest play of the night as he was able to disrupt a 3-point attempt at the buzzer by junior Kipper Nichols that would have tied the game. Nichols was unable to get the shot off.

Had Nichols tied the game, it would have capped off a huge rally for the Eagles. After trailing 52-46 with 42 seconds remaining, St. Edward stole three inbounds passes and cut the lead to two points.

"We were fortunate to put ourselves close late, but we didn't deserve to win that game," said St. Edward coach Eric Flannery.

St. Edward struggled all game trying to shoot over Shaker Heights' zone defense. The Eagles hit just three 3-pointers.

"We haven't seen a lot of zone even though we work against it," Flannery said. "I just thought we did a terrible job of attacking it."

The Eagles were without sophomore Derek Funderburk, who received an offer from Ohio State this season and is a key member of the team's bench. Funderburk broke his foot in practice on Monday and is out for the year.

St. Edward struggled to get much offense from anyone other than senior Marsalis Hamilton, who had 17 points, and Nichols, who has 16 points.

Shaker Heights grabbed control of a low-scoring first half with a 14-0 run in the first quarter. By halftime, the Raiders held a 27-21 advantage.

Ahmad only had four points in the first half, but the rest of the Raiders were tough to stop. Junior Kaleb Roy matched Ahmad with 14 points in game.

"My coaching staff and I really work to push the other guys," Young said. "It's next man up."

Tuesday's game is a potential preview of a Division I state semifinal. Both teams are the No. 1 seed in their district, and they wouldn't meet until Columbus.

It doesn't get any easier for these teams. St. Edward is off until Saturday, when it hosts No. 4 Central Catholic. Shaker Heights will play No. 5 Medina on Friday, a game cleveland.com will broadcast live.

Coming Monday: Playoff party show at Harry Buffalo

Fans and players are invited to the NEO Varsity Insider's High School Basketball Playoff Party on Monday, Feb. 17 at the Harry Buffalo in downtown Cleveland (2120 East 4th Street). More than 25 boys and girls teams will be in attendance and on set during the show: 6-7:30 for boys and 7:30-9 for girls. Cavs and Monsters tickets will be raffled off and everyone in attendance is eligible for the prizes. See more details about the cleveland.com event here.

Contact high school sports reporter David Cassilo by email (dcassilo@cleveland.com) or Twitter (@dcassilo). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

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